


Welcome Back

by HellsAngel921



Category: Fate/Grand Order, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms
Genre: A little angst, But then they come back to life, Canonical Character Death, Established Merlin/CasGil, Except only Siduri knows, Like seriously it was supposed to be way sadder than how it turned out, M/M, Merlin can't deal, My Merlin is low key yandere, Not Really Character Death, Spoilers for Fate/Grand Order Babylonia singularity ch13 and 14, my titles suck, wtf happened
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-06
Updated: 2018-05-06
Packaged: 2019-05-02 22:28:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14554881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HellsAngel921/pseuds/HellsAngel921
Summary: Merlin can't quite hear any of it. In fact, ever since their encounter at the city center, the magus has had a hard time getting rid of the noisy static in his head. It was drowning out everything else in the real world. Only a single thought seemingly breaking through, replaying over and over without end.It's impossible. Impossible. It can't be. We had an agreement. I promised. I promised so why..."Death by overwork... is that even..."That's-"Impossible!" Romani's voice interjects, cutting through the mess of thoughts....ah.





	Welcome Back

**Author's Note:**

> NyxExclipse told me to finish this and post it so I did! Hahah!... I'm sorry for all the mistakes... I'll fix them later I swear! Also alternative summary : (Gilgamesh dies. Merlin tries to deal. It doesn't go too well.)

Uruk is quiet when they make it back from their recent journey.  
  
Although the impending threat of Gorgon has ever been looming over their heads, the citizens of Uruk have not once shown a sign of accepting defeat yet now, when Merlin returns with Ritsuka and the others, the normally bustling streets are devoid of life. No sounds of cheerful shopkeepers or loud construction are to be heard. No guards at the front gate to greet them.  
  
Merlin feels dread settle at the pit of his stomach.  
  
It's no surprise when Ana notices immediately that something is wrong and goes off to face her own fears, leaving the rest of them behind without so much as an explanation. The group becomes unsettled at her sudden departure and the Magus of Flowers wonders if they have even realized just how different the city seems, so he speaks up.  
  
"Uruk's usual energy isn't present..."  
  
His words have a visible effect. The Chaldeans and Goddesses have finally taken note of the closed shops and hushed atmosphere. Mashu suggests going to the city center to ask what has happened. Merlin couldn't agree more, in fact he doesn't think the group is walking fast enough.  
  
But when the familiar guard normally stationed at the front gate, who should have welcomed them back with a smile, is there at the steps leading to the palace instead, the dreadful gnawing in his stomach has turned into panic when Merlin sees the grim expression he is wearing. It takes all of his willpower not to grab the man and shake him, demand answers: what's wrong? Why is it so quiet? What has happened to the city?  
  
...what has happened to its king?  
  
Merlin bites his tongue, chides himself mentally for even thinking something could have happened to Gilgamesh. Everything is alright, he reasons. It was impossible for anything to have happened to his king. They've specifically come up with a strategy where the king would be in the least risk after all.  
  
"Lord Merlin... you've returned." the guard approaches when he spots them. His face never shifting from it's sorrowful visage.  
  
It was impossible.  
  
They had an agreement.  
  
He made a promise.  
  
Merlin _promised_.  
  
And yet...  
  
"Ahh but I'm afraid, it's too late..."  
  
\-----  
  
_Impossible_.  
  
"To think they really are holding a funeral..." Ishtar comments, a sour look upon her pretty face. Like the rest of them, the news of King Gilagamesh's death does not sit well with her and it shows quite visibly when she turns a glare at Siduri.  
  
_That's impossible_.  
  
The normally stoic, capable woman is absolutely distraught. Her eyes are red rimmed, her face pale and her hair in slightly sticking out in disarray, she doesn't look like she's had a decent night of sleep.  
  
"Yes... it is as you say, it is unfortunate but the king is already..." Siduri lets the sentence go unfinished, her voice wavering at the last second as she brings up a trembling hand to cover her mouth. At this, Ishtar deflates from her almost accusatory look and Mashu immediately goes to the advisor to comfort her. Quetzacoatl dons a thoughtful countenance while Jaguarman doesn't seem to know what to do with herself.  
  
Ritsuka listens quietly as Siduri tries her best to compose herself and inform them of what happened to the Wise King.  
  
But Merlin...  
  
_No, that's impossible_.  
  
Merlin can't quite hear any of it. In fact, ever since their encounter at the city center, the magus has had a hard time getting rid of the noisy static in his head. It was drowning out everything else in the real world. Only a single thought seemingly breaking through, replaying over and over without end.  
  
_It's impossible. Impossible. It can't be. We had an agreement. I promised. I_ promised _so why_...  
  
"Death by overwork... is that even..."  
  
That's-  
  
" **Impossible**!" Romani's voice interjects, cutting through the mess of thoughts.  
  
...ah.  
  
At this interruption, the rest of them begin to finally figure out what has really transpired while they were retrieving the Axe of Marduk.  
  
_Ah so that's it. It has to be that right... It can only be that. It has to be_ -  
  
"-a lie... It's a lie... It was a lie... I haven't broken my promise to you..." Merlin doesn't notice the stare a certain Master is giving him as he quietly mutters to himself.  
  
\-----  
  
They have decided that only Ritsuka, Mashu and Ishtar are to go to the underworld to retrieve Gilgamesh's soul.  
  
Merlin merely smiles and wishes them a safe trip.  
  
If anyone were looking closer, they would see how strained that smile truly was.  
  
\-----  
  
His king lays on a bed of white flowers eyes closed and hands folded, clothed in white garments. Like this, Gilgamesh seems like he is finally at peace. Merlin thinks he's never felt such sorrow looking at such a beautiful sight.  
  
He reaches a hand up to softly stroke the... sleeping man's cheek.  
  
_Yes... he's only sleeping_.  
  
His hand lowers to the other man's hand, grasping it carefully, he ignores how cold it is and brings it up, his magic making sure to keep his king's body well enough for his return.  
  
_Gil... even though I've told you many times to get enough rest. Even though I've always said you're pushing yourself too far... please wake up soon_.  
  
Merlin tightens his hold and kneels by the bedside, not taking any heed of the flowers that fall onto the floor from his movements, he closes his own eyes and places a light kiss upon slender fingers.  
  
"...ah, how should I apologize when you come back, my king."  
  
\-----  
  
When Gilgamesh regains consciousness, it takes a moment for him to remember why he is staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling rather than the silk coverings of his royal bed chambers. The first thing he does is try to move his body but to his surprise, he feels he is unable to. Shoving the rising panic back down, he reasons it is because of his recent return from the underworld and slowly tries again.  
  
Curling his fingers, the tingling that starts at the tips is a positive sign so he carefully tries rolling his shoulders, satisfied when he is successful in getting them to move too.

Next he stretches his neck, turning his head-

"Oh..."

"Ah..."

And he finds himself staring face to face with his servant.

While the Magus of Flowers doesn't seem any worse for wear physically, the king of Uruk notices the hint of desperation in those purple eyes. With a huff, Gilgamesh deduces that the other has probably been more or less of a wreck since finding out about his death regardless of his outward appearance.

"Merlin, what are you doing?"

The white-haired servant startles as if a child having been caught acting out of turn.

"...my king?"

Gilgamesh barely keeps himself from rolling his eyes and sighs instead.

"Your king's soul has just returned from his journey to the Underworld while his body has been laying still the entire time. How long are you going to keep me waiting?"  
Merlin's eyes widen only a fraction to those words before moving immediately, helping to prop up the blonde's body against his own. With only a slight hesitation at first, he slowly begins to massage the other, starting with the fingers and adding a small amount of healing magic to help along the progress.

Gilgamesh merely hums in content, leaning his head against the Magus' chest as he works. After a few minutes of the light massage however, he cannot ignore the question of where they are and voices out his thoughts.

"...Siduri was in the middle of preparing your funeral" was Merlin's somber reply, not once breaking off from his appointed task.

Gilgamesh raises a brow and smirks in amusement.

"Well now, that explains the flowers and the funeral garbs... but not those." 

While the king gestures to the only door leading in and out of the room, the whole wall is covered in moving vines, upon them are tiny flowers different from the ones surrounding the two growing and falling off inconsistently. In fact they wrap around the whole room, the only spot bare from the assault is the very bed Gilgamesh and Merlin lay on. Gilgamesh of course can tell the vines were made from Merlin's magic, a spell to safe guard the king's body most likely but even so, a simpler spell to alert him of intruders would have been enough. Using such complicated magic to physically summon a shelter was extreme, especially when his servant can use illusory magic like second nature to hide them. Said Magus' reply is a sheepish look.

"Honestly, your overreaction to everything is quite tiresome. Remove them once I am able to walk properly" the king demands, this time unable to keep his eyes from rolling at his servant's actions.

"...yes of course." Merlin responds while ducking his head.

Gilgamesh frowns at this, reaching up a hand to tilt the other's face up and is not surprised to see that same look of desperation still swirling in those expressive eyes, except accompanied now is also longing and guilt. The king sighs again, wondering what exactly is going through his servant's mind for him to feel guilt over. He doesn't question the man though, having long learnt before that this servant of his will feel inclined to pamper his king to the point of coddling. If Gilgamesh were honest, sometimes it did feel nice to be taken care of like now, wrapped in his servant's arms enjoying an albeit slightly necessary massage, but most of the time, Merlin acted as if the king of Uruk needed to be protected from everything and it would be Merlin's fault if anything happened to him.

Well it's not as if Merlin hasn't explained to him why the Magus feels this way, not that it's any less annoying... still, perhaps he can afford to give in to his loyal servant's whims every once in a while.

Merlin gasps sharply when the blonde moves forward to connect their lips for a brief moment before pulling away. His eyes are wide and Gilgamesh holds back an un-kingly snort at how his servant looks two seconds away from practically whining for more. Instead, he grabs onto the cloak that is always adorning the other and pulls backward until he is laying back down onto the bed, the Magus above him having to let go of his king, settling his arms on either side as to not fall right on top of the blonde.

Merlin blinks, trying to process their new position.

"My king...?"

To his great shock, Gilgamesh actually smiles coyly back up at him.

"Hmph, must you make me repeat myself? Have I not said that I have just returned from the Underworld?" the king pauses here, keeping that playful expression as he tilts his head slightly, "therefore I find my body is in need of mana."

Gilgamesh tries to keep himself from bursting out laughing as he watches Merlin's eyes widen, mouth falling open as his brain probably short circuits. But then all too quickly, Merlin recovers and instead of being ravaged as expected, Gilgamesh finds himself staring at his servant's worried expression instead.

"Gil... I don't think that's wise. Like you said, we just recently recovered your soul, your body might not-"

Really now... his mouth may say one thing but Gilgamesh can tell from the hesitance and hunger warring in the other's eyes that clearly,the Magus of Flowers wants this as well.

Resisting the urge to the smack Merlin upside the head, Gilgamesh opts to grab his servant's face with both his hands instead, surprising the other into silence. With a smirk, the king pulls the other towards him until their faces, and subsequently their lips, are a mere inch apart. The blonde can tell from the way the Magus' eyes dilate, the hunger there growing, that he only needs one more push to completely convince him.

"Merlin" he whispers, his lips barely brushing against the other's invitingly. The blonde chuckles when he sees the hesitation vanish within those eyes from that action alone and he knows he has won before he even says his next words, "Will you not give your king a proper welcome back?"

"Yes, my master" the half-incubus barely manages to respond before doing as told.

\---

Back in the throne room, a certain group is waiting for the king of Uruk to make his appearance, finally ready to go over their plans to take on Gorgon.

And yet...

"Gah! It's been hours! Where is that good for nothing Goldie?!" Ishtar screams, having been fed up waiting with the others. 

"Please calm down Ishtar-san, King Gilgamesh is probably still recovering..." Mashu tries unsuccesfully to calm the Goddess down.

"What do you mean?! I was much more beaten up coming out of that forsaken place and yet here I am!" Ishtar angrily retorts, her delicate features scrunching up in her ire, her whole figure practically screaming bloody murder.

"Ah... well..." Mashu mumbles, unable to come up any excuse to that.

"Now, now Goddess Ishtar, please do remember you entered the Underworld alive and so needed much less time to bring yourself together. King Gilgamesh had his very soul leave his body and had to come back a different way than the rest of you" Siduri's calm voice was like a saving grace for the Demi-servant, not even the slightest bit shooken up by Ishtar's anger. Mashu could only nod her head enthusiastically, glad that the advisor seemed much better now.

"Hmph! That troublesome guy is probably lazing about doing who knows what as per usual!" the Goddess of love crosses her arms, and petulantly turns her head to the side in a pout.

"My, my sounds like someone is a bit grumpy! Here, tell big sis all about it!" Quetzcoatl pipes in, standing up and heading towards Ishtar with open arms.

"Wha-who would want to tell you anything, you idiotic lucha maniac!" Ishtar cries out, dodging her way around the other Goddess.

Ritsuka smiles at their antics, glad that at least with the upcoming battles, for now they could play around like this. But even so, with everyone gathered here sans a certain king, there was still one other person missing. A small amount of anxiousness seeps into him when he remembers the peculiar way the Magus of Flowers was acting when they heard the news of King Gilgamesh's death. Seeing as how the Goddesses are preoccupied with... chasing each other (it seems Jaguarman has also joined in the fray at some point with starry eyes), and with Mashu paying close attention to them in case she needs to be prepared to guard her Master during any accidents, the Chaldea master turns towards the advisor of Uruk.

"By the way Siduri, do you know where Merlin went?"

"Hmm? Oh yes, he was tasked with guarding the king's body until your return." Siduri replies with a knowing smile.

"Eh? Is that so?" Ritsuka tilts his head in confusion at the strange smile Siduri is wearing. He narrows his eyes as the memory of finding King Gilgamesh pops into his head back in the Underworld. When they found him, he had not even the slightest worry of recently dying, even going so far as to make fun of Ishtar as soon as he saw her sorry state. But then he had mentioned a certain white haired Magus.

\---

_The roads leading out of the Underworld were long and difficult, especially with those gates each giving them a battle to fight. Ishtar, bearing the worst of it all as with each gate, her body kept getting weaker and weaker._

_Gilgamesh seemed in no hurry though, despite knowing his death could not be reversed without first encountering the ruler of the Underworld. It seemed to Ritsuka, seeing a certain Goddess humiliated took precedence over his own well being._

_"Ah King Gilgamesh, Ishtar perhaps we should get going..." Although telling a king what to do was the last thing he ever wanted, the master of Chaldea didn't really like the idea of keeping the same king dead any longer than necessary. When both Gilgamesh and Ishtar (despite being the size of a hamster) turn to glare at him in between their heated argument however, Ritsuka couldn't help but gulp in nervousness._

_"Oh...? You have some nerve to order me around, mongrel" despite the words, Gilgamesh is smiling as if amused rather than irritated. Ritsuka silently sighs in relief._

_"Ah, that wasn't my intention at all, my apologies!" Ritsuka quickly bows in respect, not missing the way Ishtar mumbles under her breath but not being able to make out what her words were either. Judging by the way the only person close enough to actually hear what she said was now glaring in annoyance her way, the raven haired master wracks his brain for anything that could defuse the situation should it devolve into another spat between the two. "Well, uh...! It's just, so many people are waiting for us to get back like Siduri..." he sees Gilgamesh open his mouth to no doubt start throwing insults so Ritsuka exclaims, " ...and Merlin!"_

_At this, Gilgamesh pauses and turns towards him._

_Ritsuka blinks. Was it his imagination or did the king just seemed... startled? As if he had forgotten something important that just came to mind._

_But then a thoughtful expression replaces it and Gilgamesh turns away from both of them, commanding them all, "True there is no time to dawdle, let us go to the next trial mongrels!"_

\---

At the time, Ritsuka had thought it was a trick of the light or something... but now remembering how the king had practically done a complete turn of attitude at the mention of his servant waiting for them and remembering the way Merlin had been muttering to himself during Siduri's explanation of what happened when they had been out with Queztcoatl, shivering at the image of Merlin's vacant eyes...

"...Siduri... about King Gilgamesh and Merlin-" he begins but is cut off when the woman raises a finger to her smiling lips in shushing motion.

Ritsuka blinks. And blinks again.

"...ah... I see..."

**Author's Note:**

> Ok so... wtf this was supposed to be WAY sadder than how it turned out, like seriously the draft in my head was like "yeah ok now add tear jerker here and here heh heh" but then this is what happens when I listen to upbeat music while writing fanfic that was supposed to be 80% angst... the angst gets cut down by 50% I guess lol. I have another Merlin/CasGil one shot planned for later so we'll see when I'll get around to that one haha...
> 
> Also I took some liberties with the whole mana transfer thing. Basically since Merlin isn’t really a true servant he doesn’t really need a steady supply of mana considering his real body resides in Avalon which basically is an unlimited magic source. So it’s my headcanon that Gilgamesh is usually the one who gets his mana replenished since he tends to, you know over work himself heh.


End file.
